No. 6 Bulldogs Nab Two Fourth Place Finishes

Oct 05, 2009

No. 6 Bulldogs Gain Valuable
Experience

NEW
HAVEN, Conn—The No. 6 Bulldogs launched onto the water in two
parts of the northeast this weekend. The Bulldogs sailed at the
Women’s Finger Lakes Intersectional hosted by Cornell in
Ithaca, N.Y., and also at the Regis Bowl hosted by Boston
University in Boston, finishing in fourth place at both
events.

Four Bulldogs made the long trip to Cornell
for the promotional Finger Lakes Intersectional. Saturday dawned
with sunshine, which was quite rare across the rain-drenched
northeast. Races were sailed in 420s in light breeze. Sunday
brought some of the rain that had plagued the rest of the
northeast. The breeze didn’t fill until later in the day but
there was still enough time to complete the twelve-race regatta.
The team finished in fourth with 105 points behind Old Dominion
University, Dartmouth, and Navy.

Senior Sarah Lihan and junior Elizabeth Brim
won A division with 29 points, winning four races and never
finishing out of the top five. Lihan sailed in England for the
first two weekends followed by a weekend of singlehanded sailing at
the Women’s New England Singlehanded Championships, which
made the Finger Lakes Intersectional her first double-handed
regatta of the season. With three years of experience and a couple
weeks of practice, Lihan was able to make the switch from
singlehanded to double-handed look easy.

In
B Division senior Rebecca Jackson and sophomore Stephanie Schuyler
had an up and down regatta to finish in seventh with 76 points.
They finished in the top five in four races and never finished out
of the top 10. Schuyler said, “It was pretty light on
Saturday which was frustrating, but it was to be expected when
sailing on a lake. The weekend got better as Becca [Jackson] and I
got used to sailing together. We have never sailed together before
so it took a little while for us to get in
sync.”

It
was the first time the four Bulldogs had been to Cornell and they
quite liked the facilities. Schuyler said, “Cornell’s
venue is gorgeous and very impressive for a club team that does not
have the type of funding that s
chools with varsity teams have.”

In
Boston, the Bulldogs received a not so dry welcome by the Charles
River. Saturday brought with it soggy sailing conditions as it
poured rain for most of the day. Races were sailed in FJs in a
southeasterly breeze of five to 10 knots that faded as the day went
on. The Charles provided the puffy and shifty conditions that it is
known for. Because there were only 10 teams at the regatta, both
divisions were sailed together in a combined division with one bye
set every rotation. Ten races were sailed throughout the day on
Saturday.

Sunday’s weather was a bit more
agreeable with clouds rather than raindrops but unfortunately the
wind seemed to have left with the rain. After being in postponement
for three hours, two races were completed in very light conditions.
A third race was started but then abandoned due to the nonexistent
breeze and the regatta was called at 2:30 p.m. after 12 races. The
Bulldogs finished with 212 points in fourth place behind Boston
College, Harvard, and Tufts.

Freshman Claire Dennis and sophomore Margot
Benedict sailed as the A Division team and finished in seventh
overall. They had only one finish outside of the top 10 in 12 races
and finished in the top five in two races. Freshmen Emily Billing
and Heather May sailed as the B Division team and finished in
14thoverall. They had two top-five
finishes and seven top 10 finishes.

As
the regatta progressed, the Bulldogs were able to adjust to the
difficult Charles River conditions, which often leave people
scratching their heads. Both teams were able to improve their
finishes and had some of their best races towards the end of the
regatta.

Next week the Bulldogs will be in action at
the Navy Women’s Intersectional in Annapolis, Md. With three
divisions, the Bulldogs will once again be able to use their
depth.